Work continues to clean dirty water

ENGINEERS are continuing to work around the clock to return water supplies to Broadway after about 2,000 homes were left without clean water.

The problem started last Friday (November 23) when residents began to notice the water coming out of the taps was a funny colour and did not taste right.

Workers from Severn Trent found the problem was being caused by a cracked pipe which led to polluted water entering the system.

Residents were immediately advised to start boiling tap water before it was used for drinking, food preparation, teeth cleaning or ice making.

Thousands of bottles of water have also been delivered to the village.

Numerous tests have been carried out on whether or not the water is now safe to drink and while it is hoped some supplies may return this weekend a Severn Trent spokesman said they would only allow people to do so when they were 100 per cent sure supplies were okay.

"Our latest water sampling tests are clear and we will carry out further tests over the coming days, to make sure the water is safe to drink," he said.

"Once all tests are complete and we have confirmation that the water is back to the high standards it should be, we will be sending a letter to customers to let them know that the water is safe to drink.

"In the meantime, more bottled water will continue to be delivered to all properties in the affected area and deliveries will continue every day until water quality returns. We are liaising with local authorities in the area to ensure bottled water is delivered to key services until the problem is resolved.

"We’d like to thank customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience this has caused."

Water supplies have also been affected in neighbouring Wickhamford with Dogs Trust Evesham having to buy in bottled water for 150 dogs.

Chris Slight, Dogs Trust Evesham rehoming centre manager, said: "Fortunately we weathered the storm but have been left without clean running water.

"Our first priority was to make sure that we had enough clean drinking water for the 150 dogs in our care, so staff rushed out and bought hundreds of bottles of water. Many of our dogs did not have the best start in life so we are keen to ensure that they are as comfortable as possible as they wait to find the loving homes they so deserve."

Wychavon District Council is now advising residents they can put out their empty water bottles with recycling collections early next week.

Homeowners will be provided with a leaflet to advise them on how to put out the bottles.

Additional crews have also been drafted in to help with the additional recycling. Collections will be done in two phases the normal collection the green bins will be done by one crew and an additional crew will collect the clear sacks. So it one has been taken and the other left collections haven’t been forgotten and will be collection by a separate crew.